The Port River Expressway Project is a key South Australian initiative to link the major port and rail terminals directly with the Auslink National Network to create defined transport corridors to facilitate to the movement of freight. Total Project costs for Stages 2 and 3 is $178 million with a scope of work that included building separate opening road and rail bridges across the Port River, providing direct access to the LeFevre Peninsula and Outer Harbor.

York Civil undertook some of the most critical works on the entire Project, much of which occurred in the Port River. York Civil undertook the construction of sheet-piled cofferdams around the main bascule pier in 12 metres of water in order to construct the pilecap and bascule piers below river level.